ALLEGHE, Italy (AP) 鈥� American rider Sepp Kuss soloed to victory on the toughest stage of the Giro d鈥橧talia on Friday, while Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Jonas Vingegaard remained firmly in the overall lead heading into the final two days.
The so-called queen stage had more than 5,000 meters of climbing across six tough ascents through the stunning Dolomites.
That included the mighty Passo Giau, the highest point of this year鈥檚 race and so brutal it was ranked 鈥渉ors categorie鈥� 鈥� defying categorization.
Kuss, who had been part of the day鈥檚 breakaway, crossed the line at the summit finish of Alleghe 13 seconds ahead of Derek Gee-West to complete the Grand Tour trilogy, having won stages in the Tour de France and Spanish Vuelta, where he also finished first overall in 2023.
鈥淭o be honest, (the stage win) was never the primary goal,” Kuss said. “The main challenge was to win the pink jersey for Jonas and so far it鈥檚 looking good. When they told me the other night that I had the chance to go in the break I knew I had to seize the opportunity … it鈥檚 something I always dreamt of.鈥�
Giulio Ciccone was third, 36 seconds behind Kuss and just ahead of Felix Gall and Vingegaard.
Ciccone attacked on the descent of the penultimate climb and had an advantage of more than a minute on his breakaway companions at the start of the final ascent but the Italian was caught by Kuss with just over two kilometers remaining of the 151-kilometer (94-mile) route.
鈥淎t the bottom … I thought, 鈥榃ell it鈥檚 over,鈥� and to be honest I was a bit demotivated because I thought it was over but I just tried to focus on doing the fastest climb possible,鈥� Kuss said. 鈥淟ots of suffering because I knew I had to push it all the way to the line.
“But I knew my mother was going to be standing 500 meters from the finish and big shout out to her and my family because I really only see them a few weeks every year and it鈥檚 hard to stay in contact with everybody that鈥檚 far away. So, it was really nice to have her there.鈥�
Vingegaard maintained his overall lead of 4 minutes, 3 seconds clear of Felix Gall. Jai Hindley moved into third, just over a minute further back.
鈥淥h, I鈥檓 very proud. Sepp is just such a good guy,鈥� Vingegaard said. “He鈥檚 the one guy you would always say he deserves it the most and he鈥檚 the guy who would never ask for anything and that he then takes the stage is just incredible.
鈥淗e’s been there every time I won a Grand Tour so it shows how important he is. That I can give just a little bit back to him. … it鈥檚 just something that I鈥檓 really happy about.鈥�
The winner of the Giro d鈥橧talia will be all but decided on Saturday鈥檚 penultimate stage before the largely processional ride to Rome the following day.
The 20th stage is a 200-kilometer (124-mile) route from Gemona del Friuli that has three classified climbs, including the top-category ascent to the finish in Piancavallo.
The women鈥檚 Giro starts on Saturday and ends on June 7.
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